Cafe de Macau, Haymarket

I hadn't visited Cafe de Macau since my first visit which was about a year, maybe more. It's one of those places that are slightly out-of-the-way and thus doesn't feature on my food periphery. Then again, the food itself is quite average so there's another reason for the length between visits.

For reference, it's on George Street near Central station. It's opposite Cafe Kasturi and is on the corner of a laneway. It's about a five minute walk from UTS library.

A few of us felt like an afternoon snack and somehow it was decided that we would visit Cafe de Macau. My friend insisted that they had classic HK style 'afternoon tea sets' which were worth a try.

It was 4pm in the afternoon and the place was quite empty. In fact, I initially wondered if it was open! Then I saw a few patrons and realised that yes, it was open for business.

Empty seats

A benefit of the lack of customers was that we got a booth seat. I love sitting in booths!

The afternoon tea sets are available from 3.00pm to 5.30pm and there are five to chose from. They include a coffee or tea, but if you want a pearl milk tea then it will cost an additional $1.

Afternoon tea set menu - click to enlarge

Placing our order was a bit of a farce. Despite the empty cafe, it seemed as though the staff deliberately went out of their way to avoid eye contact! I know this sounds crazy but my companions can vouch for this. The staff lurked behind the counter, eyes down and talked to each other. Even a loud 'Excuse me!' did not rouse them.

The counter behind which the staff lurked

Eventually I managed to catch the eye of one (no easy task!) and we placed our orders.

Two of us decided to order the 'House Special' tea set and the other just wanted a beverage. Silly me, I thought that the House Special included all three of a Macau pork chop crispy bun, seafood spring roll and french toast. Unfortunately I missed the 'or' in between each option. D'oh!

Watermelon pearl milk tea

This was the drink that I added onto my tea set and it was okay. The pearls were chewy but not sweet (I like sweet, chewy pearls like from Tea Ten Ren on George St) and one of them actually tasted a bit floury!

Black Sesame Milk Tea ($3.80)

Pearl Milk Tea

The trio of milk teas

Our crispy pork chop buns arrived and they were actually quite nice. The bun had been warmed up and there was a decent sized piece of pork on the inside.

A few onions had been scattered on top of the pork bun and I did some further assembling by adding the greens on the side into the bun.

The 'House Special' afternoon tea set costs $5.40 (plus one dollar if you want a pearl milk tea). If you looked at the afternoon tea set menu, you will see that the other sets are slightly pricier with most coming in at $6.30.

retrodaze

We have been writing about food in Sydney since 2009. No place is too far or too wide for us to travel to visit. We always give an honest opinion and love to hear your comments too. Here's to an ever-growing society of foodies!